Ear infections, particularly of the outer ear canal, commonly occur in dogs and other animals when bacteria and even yeast become trapped in the animals' ears. Indeed, some estimate that treatment and prevention of such a pervasive condition contributes to a $50 million-a-year industry.
Popular methods for addressing this problem occur in two phases. First bacteria and yeast inhabiting the ear canal must be eliminated by effectively cleaning the ear canal. Second, medications for preventing bacteria and yeast from growing must be applied. Even when appropriate medications are timely applied, infection is known to recur and even persist. This is due in large part to anatomy. Animals with long, heavy, and even particularly hairy ears that block airflow, in turn trapping heat and moisture within the air canal, are known to experience increased incidences of ear infections. With respect to dogs, breeds such as Cocker Spaniels, Bassett Hounds, Airedales, and Golden Retrievers exhibit such ear anatomy and, as a result, are known to similarly suffer from chronic ear conditions.
Solutions have been proposed to aid prevention and treatment of animal ear infections. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,926 to Nunez discloses a water resistant cap for protecting animals' ears from moisture during bathing. U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,256 to Mann discloses a restrictive cover formed as shells that cover the animals' ears. Although these prevent moisture and debris from initially entering the animals' ear canals, they fail to provide the airflow necessary to reduce humidity already existing therein. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,254 to Chao discloses an apparatus formed as two connected elastic rings that lift the bases of an animal's floppy ears away from the animal's head. This solution is deficient, however, because by merely lifting the base of the ear, the device fails to fully expose the ear canal to airflow. Indeed, a portion of the floppy ear at least partially obscures the opening of the ear.
In light of these deficiencies, other practices have been implemented in an attempt to, at least temporarily, permit unimpeded airflow in and around the animal's ear and reduce the humidity that allows yeast and bacteria to thrive within the ear canal. Some animal owners and veterinarians, for instance, simply observe the affected animal and, when the animal falls asleep, flip its ear or ears to expose its ear canals to the open air. Many animals, however, are quick to wake up upon such contact, and shake their own ear back into its naturally flopped position. Others have attempted to more securely expose the animals' ear canals by clipping, pinning, or tying the ears back. These solutions, however, can be uncomfortable for the animal and even risk cutting off circulation to the pinned or tied portion of the animal's ears. Indeed, if pinned or tied tight enough or for a long enough period of time, the affected tissue may even experience necrosis and fall off of the ear.
Although various proposals have been made to solve the problem, none of those in existence combine the characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, there remains a need for a device that aids prevention and treatment of animal ear conditions by securely exposing their ear canals.